Welcome to 2022 at CTO Craft! It’s been a great ride so far, but we feel now is the right time to shake things up a bit around here. First stop: the way we’re doing content is changing. And we want you to not only join us in being part of it (don’t worry – we still welcome contributors!) but understand how our focus and output will be shifting, the new processes we’re putting in place to make things better. 

Therefore, let us introduce you to the CTO Craft Creative Committee that includes the Who’s Who in tech right now. We’ve brought together a core team that possesses the experience, influence and know-how within engineering leadership, learning and development and the future of technology. The Creative Committee will be coming together once a month to debate, plan and create! They’ll also be responsible for developing improved engagement and more dynamic communications with the CTO Craft community, as well as our third-party stakeholders. 

Why now? Well, with thematic decisions across a range of subjects being made by leading industry experts, CTO Craft can provide more enriching content, better products, bigger events and conferences, and most importantly, ensure greater diversity when it comes to our service offering. 

This year is going to be a big one for us. And we want to build on the credibility, authenticity, and validation of the last five years by improving and increasing the range, depth and insights of topics provided to our brilliant community and elevate our position as an L&D leader in the field. 

So without further ado, we present to you the inaugural members of the new Creative Committee. Joining Andy Skipper – Chairperson and Founder Director of CTO Craft, and Nick Bates – Committee Secretary and COO of CTO Craft to realise this mission and share why they wanted to be involved. Please welcome:

  • Ezechi Britton MBE – From Developer to Co-founder and CTO, before turning his hand to serial entrepreneurship. Ezechi was awarded an MBE in 2022’s New Years honours list in recognition of his services to Diversity and Young People through his work with Code Untapped and Impact X Capital Partners LLP: “As a former startup CTO myself I know just how important it is to have the support of a group like CTO Craft. This group has helped me to develop as both a technologist and a leader so I couldn’t be prouder to be involved in supporting it through the Committee.”
  • Laura Tacho – Engineering Leadership Coach and Consulting CTO/VP, Laura regularly writes about engineering leadership, including a weekly Management Queries column, and partners with engineering managers and executives to level up their leadership skills through coaching and personalised training: “There’s no better community for software leaders than CTO Craft. I’m excited to play a bigger part in connecting this community with resources so we can all learn from each other.”
  • Anna Dick – CTO at the award-winning online recruitment marketplace, Hiring Hub and a non-executive Director at Tech Nation. Anna is a passionate DEI advocate and experienced mentor of founders, businesses and tech leaders in the North: “I’m excited to be involved in shaping the future content of CTOCraft. It’s great they are continuing to put the user at the heart of the community by creating a diverse committee to represent current and future CTO needs.”
  • Lee-Jon Ball – Career chameleon and strategist extraordinaire, Lee-Jon is a former academic, scientist, editor and events manager turned CTO who advises companies on technology, innovation and organisational design. He is passionate about helping people achieve exceptional results through creating the right environment: “I’m glad to support this community and looking forward to giving back to those that have helped me along with knowledge and mentoring over the years.”
  • Vicky Wills –  CTO at Zego and Advisor at Kindred Capital VC, Vicky brings with her a wealth of engineering experience building and scaling technology teams in both early-stage and high-growth companies, with a particular focus on team structuring and processes. Vicky believes strongly in using technology to level the playing field opening up opportunities to underrepresented groups: “Having enjoyed so much of the CTO Craft content myself, I’m excited to be joining the Creative Committee. The world of technology moves so quickly, and I can’t wait to dig into the content that’s supporting the community through the journey.”
  • Dan Smith – A key player since its inception, Dan is part of the CTO Craft furniture. A Fractional and Consulting CTO, Coach and Board Advisor, Dan has a particular interest in how leaders can harness technology successfully: “CTO Craft is a fantastic resource for sharing and learning.  I am delighted to be part of the journey and to join this committee to help create more of what the community craves.”
  • Emma Hopkinson-Spark – Chief of Staff at 101 Ways as well as a Coach, Consultant, and professional musician. Fan of the spoken word, Emma is also the Creative Committee’s inadvertent poet laureate: “I love the CTO Craft Community where you can learn from thousands of peers. Once you’re part of that conversation you realise not only are people all over the world facing similar challenges to you, but you also think of things you haven’t even considered yet. To be part of the creative committee is an opportunity to help steer those conversations and focus the content on areas we know are important to everyone.”
  • Joel Chippindale – CTO Coach, Advisor and Mentor experienced in building, scaling and leading software development teams in start-ups and with a talent for helping people get to the true depths of a problem, in order to solve it innovatively: “I really value being part of the CTO Craft community and am look forward to helping shape its excellent content and events.”

We’re incredibly grateful to all our members for their time, and are absolutely stoked to have such talented thought leaders on board. We can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes us and hope you’re as excited as we are!

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If you or your CTO / technology lead would benefit from any of the services offered by the CTO Craft community, use the Contact Us button at the top or email us here and we’ll be in touch!

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